Decepción
by Rosalie Hendon
Fissured Tongue Series Vol VII | May 2026
by Rosalie Hendon
Fissured Tongue Series Vol VII | May 2026
“Short Hours," J G Orudjev. Mixed media collage, 3inch x 3inch, 2022
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Decepción
Deception sounds like decepción in Spanish,
but it’s not the same.
Decepción means disappointment.
In linguistics, that’s called a false cognate.
You think you know the word, that
it’s the same because it sounds the same.
Like the false bottom of a drawer–
something is hidden underneath,
beyond your grasp.
A deception is a disappointment,
but not in reverse.
If someone disappoints you,
they didn’t deceive you.
You may have deceived yourself,
ignoring all the signs, all the flags they flew.
The ones that were obvious in retrospect.
but it’s not the same.
Decepción means disappointment.
In linguistics, that’s called a false cognate.
You think you know the word, that
it’s the same because it sounds the same.
Like the false bottom of a drawer–
something is hidden underneath,
beyond your grasp.
A deception is a disappointment,
but not in reverse.
If someone disappoints you,
they didn’t deceive you.
You may have deceived yourself,
ignoring all the signs, all the flags they flew.
The ones that were obvious in retrospect.
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About the Author
ROSALIE HENDON is a poet living in Columbus, Ohio. Her work was nominated for Best of the Net and appears in Chiron Review, Inverted Syntax, Cosmic Daffodil, Flora Fiction, Ravens Perch, and elsewhere. Rosalie reads for Black Fox Literary Magazine. She published her debut chapbook, The Black Between the Stars, in 2025. |
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About the Work
I am a native English speaker and have spent most of my life learning Spanish. While I now consider myself fluent and have lived in Spanish-speaking countries, the nuances between the languages continually surprise me and provide inspiration for ways to think about complex topics like emotion. In this poem, I explore a common linguistic trap that language learners fall into, a "false cognate"--a word that sounds like the word in your native language, but that means something different. I enjoyed exploring the subtleties between *decepción* and deception in this poem. |
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About the Process
I enjoy writing poetry through a combination of *when inspiration strikes* and also prompts, for when it doesn't. I recommend the Writer's Digest poetry prompts, as well as any creative writing book by SARK. I almost always jot down a first draft by hand or on my phone notes, and then refine when I type it. I am also part of women's writing group in Columbus, and my fellow writers' feedback is invaluable and builds my confidence in the work. ***About the Artist
J G Orudjev (she/her) is a mixed media artist, collagist, and sculptor living and working outside of Washington DC. Her work explores the nature of memory, transformative and transitory states, and the act and language of making meaning. "Collage is uniquely suited to this path because it is fundamentally reflective of the ways we construct narrative from association—the strata of image and context that provide the basis for both our private archetypes, and our shared visual language." J G’s work has appeared in print both domestically and internationally, has been selected by jury to show in galleries throughout the United States, and is part of several private collections. She is a member of NOMA, a cooperative gallery, where she fulfills a roll as a member coordinator. She also works as an artistic and curatorial consultant to a regionally recognized framer and gallerist. Find her online at bio.link/jgorudjev. |
